Teachers take 'Laskar Pelangi' as inspiration

Arghea Desafti Hapsari ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 11/19/2008 11:13 AM  |  Headlines

The movie Laskar Pelangi (Rainbow Warriors) has proven to be inspirational for many people from all walks of life, and on Tuesday, it proved to be even more so.

Around 800 assistant teachers from schools across Central Jakarta attended a viewing of the movie, adapted from Andrea Hirata's best-selling novel, at the Senayan City XXI theaters. After the viewing, many in the audience praised the movie for being "extraordinary and definitely spirit-lifting".

Siti Komala Sari from Al-Mujaahidin kindergarten said she could relate to Muslimah (a character in the movie) and her daily struggles in trying to educate her pupils.

"She inspired me in the way she always smiled through any kind of obstacle she and her pupils had to go through," Siti said.

Laskar tells the story of a teacher and her 10 students struggling for an education in a poverty-stricken kampung in Belitung. A dedicated teacher, Muslimah chooses to teach in the only Muslim primary school on the island, off Sumatra's southeast coast. Challenges come thick and fast, but she never loses her faith and determination to give the impoverished students an education.

After watching the movie, Siti said she had the urge to provide her students with more opportunities.

"I think opportunities are important if you want your students to have a brighter future," Siti said.

However, Siti and many other teachers at the event said it was difficult these days in Jakarta to have the dedication of someone like Muslimah.

"With the prices of basic commodities so high, and teachers' salaries so low, it's not easy for us to demonstrate the amazing dedication Ibu Mus had," said Arif Fadillah from At-taqwa junior high school.

Tuesday's event was organized by the Central Jakarta municipality to motivate teachers to provide a higher quality of education.

"With this event, we want to remind these teachers of their moral obligation to educate their students so they will have good quality knowledge and attitudes," said Central Jakarta Mayor Sylviana Murni.

However, Sylviana said she was not brushing aside a protracted battle by teachers for certain rights.

"This event doesn't aim to discourage teachers from fighting for what they are entitled to. However, they must also remember they have an obligation to educate," she said.

"I hope tomorrow they will return to their schools with a new spirit and new motivation."

Sylviana said she was pleased to see how the movie had done its job and charmed its audience of teachers.

As Siti put it: "For me, Laskar Pelangi is more than just a movie. It is a reminder, reminding me of what it means to be a teacher."

Comments (1)  |   Post comment
A  |   A  |   A  |   Mail to a friend  |  Printer Friendly Version |  Digg it!  |  Add to Del.icio.us!  |  Add to Reddit!  |  Stumble it!   |  Share on facebook  

SimonJakarta (not verified) — Wed, 11/19/2008 - 10:34pm

I read this article in the paper this morning and had to suppress an ironic smile. I saw "Laskar Pelangi" pretty shortly after it came out, in fact I think it was the first purely Indonesian film I ever saw or have seen since.

I remember being uniquely depressed by the film. Depressed by the poverty it portrays, by the lack of good schooling it shows as endemic outside of all but a few urban centers across the Indonesian archipelago. Depressed by the sheer insurmountable nature of the challenges the kids in the film had to contend with, just to get themselves a primary school education.

I found the film to be a sad indictment of a failed education system that is the result of insufficient government spending and attention. I remember reading somewhere that the Indonesian government continuously violates the Republic's Constitution on the occasion of each annual budget, by failing to allocate the legally required percentage of the national budget to education. I also remember reading that in Singapore, education is the second biggest item on their annual budget. Compare the public school systems in both countries and one very quickly sees how the lack of sufficient prioritization in Indonesia has left most of the country to be educated in poorly-equipped schools, taught by underpaid and insufficiently trained teachers, who are themselves so demoralized that they can actually draw inspiration from a film as depressing as Laskar Pelangi.

Will someone in this country, besides the bible-bashing Riadys and the poison-pushing Sampoernas please start taking education seriously?!

What's On

more
more
more